Demographic and Social Statistics
Time-Use Statistics
Time-use statistics are quantitative summaries of how individuals "spend" or allocate their time over a specified period - typically over a day or week. They are used to analyze policies, particularly to measure unpaid household service work, wellbeing, and gender equality. Time-use statistics are also critical to guide policies and research related to changing work practices, commuting, and transportation as well as education, health, culture, environment, and sports. Time-use statistics provide insights related to the life conditions of certain population groups, such as older people, children and people with disabilities. Over time, time-use statistics also offer meaningful insights into the changing patterns of how people use their time and the impact that new technologies, such as the Internet, have on how people allocate their time.
The importance of time use statistics for gender equality is highlighted by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Target 5.4 "Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate" and the Indicator 5.4.1 on "Time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location".
United Nations Statistics Division(UNSD)'s Methodological Work on Time-Use Statistics
2010s
- implement ICATUS 2016 and
- Modernize the collection of time-use statistics 2017, the 48th Session of the Statistical Commission endorsed the International Classification of Activities for Time-Use Statistics (ICATUS 2016)
2000s
1995
The adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action ccalled for the development of classification of activities for time-use statistics
With United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) serving as the secretariat, the United Nations Expert Group on Innovative and Effective Ways to Collect Time-Use Statistics (EG-TUS) initiated its work in June 2018 with the overall three objectives:
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1. Taking stock and reviewing country practices in time-use surveys.
2. Providing technical guidance and recommendations to improve the collection and use of time use data, in line with international standards and in support of the SDGs' implementation.
3. Developing methodological guidelines on how to operationalize ICATUS 2016 and produce time-use statistics using the latest technologies, as requested by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its forty-eighth session in (2017) in its decision 48/109.
The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is the secretariat of the Group.
The 51st Session of the Statistical Commission in 2020 (decision 51/115) endorsed the work of UNSD and the EG-TUS, approved the terms of reference of the Expert Group, and congratulated the group on the progress made in developing a conceptual framework to modernize time-use surveys.
The 53rd Statistical Commission in 2022(decision 53/111b) endorsed the work of UNSD and the EG-TUS. This included the minimum harmonized instrument for time-use data collection, quality considerations for time-use surveys, and options to modernize time-use data production. These three documents are the core components of the upcoming revision of the United Nations guidelines for producing time-use statistics.
For more information and resources on the work of UNSD and the EG-TUS, please visit the
Terms of Reference
As presented to the United Nations Statistics Division at its 51st session as background document.
Members
Countries
Agencies and Organizations
Experts
Indicator I.1 of the Minimum Set of Gender Indicators (same as SDG Indicator 5.4.1) and indicator I.2 measure time spent on unpaid domestic and care work .and total work time (both paid and unpaid), respectively:
- I.1: Average number of hours spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location
- I.2: Average number of hours spent on total work (total work burden), by sex
To view data and more information, please visit the data portal for the Minimum Set of Gender Indicators and take a look at the availability of time-use surveys and time spent on unpaid vs. total work by country, below.
Expert Group Meeting on Innovative and Effective ways to collect Time-Use Statistics
16 August 2022 Montreal, Canada
Expert Group Meeting on Innovative and Effective ways to collect Time-Use Statistics
09 - 11 May 2022 Virtual
Expert Group Meeting on Innovative and Effective ways to collect Time-Use Statistics
4-6 November 2019 New York
Expert Group Meeting on Innovative and Effective ways to collect Time-Use Statistics
20-22 May 2019 New York
Expert Group Meeting on Innovative and Effective ways to collect Time-Use Statistics (TUS), in line with ICATUS 2016 and other international standards and in support of SDGs monitoring
20-22 June 2018 New York
Expert Group Meeting on the revision of the International Classification of Activities for Time Use Statistics (ICATUS)
28 - 30 June 2016 United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA
United Nations Expert Group Meeting on the Revision of the United Nations Trial International Classification of Activities for Time Use Statistics (ICATUS)
11 - 13 June 2012 New York, USA
Time Use workshop for Arabic speaking countries
25 - 28 April 2011 Amman, Jordan
Expert Group on Methods for Conducting Time-use Surveys
23 - 27 October 2000 New York, NY
Expert Group on Methods for Conducting Time-use Surveys
13-16 October 1997 New York, NY
Methods
Resources
- - Draft as of 14 February 2020
- - As of 25 January 2022 (endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission at its 53rd session)
- - Draft as of 14 February 2020
- - As of 25 January 2022 (endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission at its 53rd session)